Chapter 106: Demon Appears!

"The dean and two vice-deans have brought in another patient!"

"Another one? Why?"

"Because it's already the 16th of the month!"

"Wow, is the mental pressure in D-avao that high now? In just one month, our Red Star Mental Hospital has been flooded with patients! And it's not like we're some world-famous hospital."

"Hahaha, you'll understand after working here for a while."

"Sila, please go clean Room 407. A new patient is arriving."

"Wait, didn't we just get a new patient last month?"

"That patient recovered and was picked up by their family. Now stop talking and go clean up. No need for all the questions."

"Alright, alright..."

"I've heard that more than ten patients have come in this month. We better take good care of them."

"Yeah! But something feels off. Why don't these patients cry or cause any trouble when they arrive? And why do none of their family members ever visit?"

"There are 16 new patients this month, and every one of them has a vacant room. Are the psychiatrists here really that skilled?"

"Sila, don't tell anyone, but I heard these so-called 'patients' aren't actually patients!"

"Then... what are they?"

"Some say that homeless people were secretly captured and brought here."

"Toka, Sali, what are you two whispering about?"

"... Blood. What kind of pattern is that? What is that thing? Why is there a monster in our mental hospital?!"

"What the hell is that!?"

"Dean...?"

"It seems another nurse at our hospital has lost her mind. What a shame."

"Yeah, such a pity. She was such a pretty girl. Maybe she caught the attention of that 'adult.'"

"Still, I can't stand seeing another one go like this. Such a waste."

"Alright, since she's gone mad, let's use her in the next month's ceremony. No need to search for anyone else."

The voices in the memory were chaotic. At first, they were as clear as a girl's voice, but by the end, it was like a demon whispering in his ear.

Novak frowned slightly. This was all the information he managed to extract from the two nurses. The rest of their memories seemed to have vanished. This mental hospital was beyond strange.

'Sixteen.' 

What did that number represent? Why did it keep appearing in the nurse's memories?

In the nurses' recollections, that figure should have been the dean or one of the vice-deans. But who was the mysterious 'adult' they mentioned?

Instead of solving the mystery, these questions only multiplied in Novak's mind. However, he remained calm and turned his attention toward the mental hospital's main entrance.

It seemed that all the answers awaited him inside this strange place.

"Let's go."

The hospital's darkened lobby looked just as eerie from outside the revolving doors. Yet, the four of them walked in without a hint of fear.

But to their surprise, the battle they were anticipating didn't happen. The empty hall was utterly silent, as though nothing was there. Even when Novak kicked open the nearest ward door, all he found was an ordinary hospital room, devoid of anything unusual.

Despite the creepy atmosphere, the four of them knew better than to split up. It was a classic death trap in horror movies. They moved together, combing through the first floor. Yet all they found were empty rooms, not even a trace of the crazed nurse they had encountered outside.

Typically, Secret Realms followed a certain structure: common mobs, elite monsters, and then the boss.

If the crazed nurses outside were the common enemies, and the dean from the nurses' memories was the boss, then where were the elite monsters?

This question seemed to find its answer soon enough.

As they reached the fourth floor, the highest level of the hospital, a shadowy figure flickered in the distance, barely visible at the end of the dark corridor.

From the beginning, this Secret Realm had an unsettling atmosphere. Outside, they had faced over ten crazed nurses, which had gotten Novak's blood pumping for a big fight. But now, after stepping into an empty mental hospital, not a single elite monster had appeared.

And here, on the fourth floor, the final boss was just... standing there, waiting?

The situation felt even more disjointed than those poorly designed online and mobile games, where the pacing was completely off. Although the Proving Grounds of Gods and Demons didn't care much for pacing, this bizarre setup left Novak feeling uneasy.

Yet, this unease was only his own. As soon as the shadowy figure appeared, the eyes of his companions lit up. After searching the hospital for over an hour without finding a soul, the oppressive atmosphere had made them grow quiet. Only Novak, with his decades of experience in the previous apocalypse, managed to stay composed.

Now, finally seeing the boss of the mental hospital, the three of them were on the verge of tears.

"Finally you bastard! After all this waiting, you've come out to face us!" Crow said, even slipping into his dialect in excitement.

The shadow of fear behind Crow stirred once more, a terrifying talent that seemed to merge and parasitize his own shadow. The massive form of the shadow began to emerge slowly.

Fear incarnate—it preyed on the darkest corners of the mind. But as the sound of leather shoes echoed down the corridor, Crow's body began to tremble.

Then, suddenly, a crack appeared in the shadow that had been forming behind him.

As the figure stepped forward and revealed itself, the shadow of fear collapsed entirely, vanishing into nothingness.

Crow spat out a mouthful of blood, his eyes wide in disbelief as he stared ahead.

Novak, too, was stunned. He even gasped.

The being before him could hardly be called human.

Purple skin, blood-red eyes, and tall, curved horns. The sight instantly reminded Novak of a species he knew all too well.

Could it be... a demon?!